Agape Blog 1
There’s a saying “it takes a village to raise a child”, and I think the same philosophy can be applied to the village when it comes to taking care of our most disadvantaged.
It’s been my experience that the village always comes through for those in need, providing practical support when it comes to the crunch.
There are families who are living on our streets, stairwells and public toilets, and those so desperate for food they are digging through bins. There’s a housing wait of 20 years for some cases, and homeless numbers are increasing. If there’s ever been crunch time, it’s now! It’s again time for our village to come to the aid of those who are homeless and struggling.
It’s small steps but we’ve started raising funds for our 2019 Housing Program. The aim is to lease premises in the Tweed for people in our community who are really doing it tough. We have launched a fundraiser to raise $25,000 to get our first house up and running – and we are sure we can reach our target with your help.
Money will pay for set up costs of the first house. The funds will provide rent up front, bond, council permits, privacy fencing, insurances and a part time case manager to work with those living in the accommodation.
Our aim is to establish at least 40 houses in the next few years. Different houses will accommodate different groups like young families, older women, men etc. These clients will enter an affordable leasing arrangement to enable their stay.
At Agape Outreach Inc we strive to feed and shelter people enduring hardship and we’ve been achieving this, with the help of the community, for the past 10 years.
We need donations more than we ever did. If you can spare a dollar – we’ll use it to get someone off the street.
https://www.gofundme.com/e2z2s-housing-for-the-homeless?sharetype=teams&member=1608394&rcid=r01-154957333897-57bd6e93b8da416f&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w
Below I have answered some of the most commonly asked questions about our 2019 Housing Program initiative.
How many houses do you realistically foresee acquiring for this program?
It’s an unlimited number that will grow over the years, I foresee around 40 houses in the next few years.
How long do you envisage individual clients will stay in the housing program – Is the program offering long term or short term/ transitional housing?
Both long term and short term accommodation will be provided. Starting with short term, 3 months and then when we get some good fits with clients we can offer long term share housing to them.
What do you see as the ultimate purpose of this housing program? What is the role of the case manager? Will clients be working towards goals that will assist them to live independently again?
The goal of the housing program is to house people and get them off the streets. The case manager’s role is to assess the individual’s needs and help them to meet that need. For some it will be other housing, other employment, for others it might be facilitating communications with family. Each case is personalised and not just about housing.
Will you be personally overseeing this housing project? As someone who has experienced hardship, how important is this project to you?
As director, I oversee all aspects of Agape Outreach Inc including the training of people to deal with the work required. I have never been homeless myself but have had food insecurity for extended periods during my life. Leaving people on the streets with no housing options removes their dignity and self-esteem while increasing the chances of mental illness and of them becoming a victim of crime. Working in this field for 10 years I have seen many people do the homeless circle over and over because of lack of affordable housing or support to help them co-exist again in mainstream society. In some cases people have lost their lives. I see the ability to provide affordable housing to people as a matter of life and death or at the very least a matter of their mental health.
Who will qualify for tenancy?
Homeless people and newly homeless people accessing Agape Outreach services.
How many people are presently homeless in the Tweed region?
The 2016 census says that 444 homeless are in the Tweed, yet the youth services alone say they have 700 homeless youth in the Tweed. There are no real figures. Agape works with 400 people per week and that is right on the border line. One study suggested 7500 over the Gold Coast and Tweed shire.
How are homeless being accommodated/ assisted presently? Where are they living? How are they getting by?
Rough sleepers are living in stairwells, under bushes and in public toilets until they are moved on. As per a recent newspaper article, one of our homeless guys got a $654 fine for sleeping in the disabled toilet at Greenmount beach. Vagrancy is illegal.
Some are couch surf going from place to place. Some live in vehicles and some live in motels.
Blair Athol is the Queensland homeless shelter in Bilinga ( I think they can take 18 people) and there is another house in Tweed Heads that takes some people in.
People doing it tough resort to the streets because even temporary accommodation is very expensive. A tent site, can cost $90 per night and motels $100 per night upwards. Without cooking facilities you need to spend more on precooked meals. Even if people attend the free meal outreaches they still can’t access food every day.
Street people have their possessions stolen and lose their possessions daily. Councils remove items left unattended. Tweed Council charges $62.50 to get your items back before they are incinerated. Homeless people can’t afford the transport costs to access services, to go an look at housing or attend appointments at Centrelink. Food and washing machine access may be cheap at places like Blair Athol but it still costs $2 to $2.50 to use these washing facilities. One night of bad weather can destroy everything you own and then it has to be replaced again.
Most people are surviving by accessing free food outreaches, temporary accommodation in a motel where government funding will allow, digging through rubbish bins or begging.
How do you plan to make the first $25K stretch for the first home in the program?
6 weeks rent approx. $4,500
Costs to adhere to council regulations, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, security screens, exit signage, fencing around property $10,000
Extra insurances $1000
Furniture and curtains $500 if not able to be donated
Case worker 10 hours per week @$35 per hour for 6 months $9100
Maintenance funding $1000
Theresa Mitchell
Founding Director of Agape Outreach Inc.